


Tell Them I'm Sorry

by AnotherGallavichLove



Category: Ghost Whisperer, Shameless (US)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, M/M, ghost au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 07:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5155202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherGallavichLove/pseuds/AnotherGallavichLove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She stood right in front of her in the middle of the living room. Her skin was pale, her hair was black. She looked scared. And even without the black eye and the blood dripping from her head and nose, Melinda would have been able to tell that she hadn’t had a very peaceful death. </p>
<p>”Who are you?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tell Them I'm Sorry

Melinda giggled, putting a hand on the back of Jim’s neck as he kept pressing small, chaste kisses to her skin. Jim soon lifted his head, smiling down at her, and she had to blink a couple of times for her eyes to be able to focus on her husbands face in the dark bedroom.

 

”I missed you” She whispered, and his face became more serious as he sighed.

 

”I know I’ve been working a lot lately” Melinda blinked up at him. ”But you know there’s a lot of car accidents this time of year”

 

She nodded, she did know that. It was only the middle of November and the show was already half way up to her knee when she stepped out the door.

 

”Long as it’s not you” She mumbled, and a smile broke out onto his face again.

 

”Never, baby” Jim promised and dipped his head, pressing a deep kiss to her lips. ”I’m exhausted” He said when they had pulled apart. ”You wanna go to sleep?”

 

Melinda nodded.

 

”Yeah. I’m just gonna go get a glass of water from the kitchen” She explained, sitting up.

 

Jim yawned and eased himself up a little bit, pressing a kiss to her shoulder before laying back down. Melinda smiled at that and slipped on her socks along with her wool cardigan before standing up and walking out of their shared bedroom and down the stairs.

 

The house was dark except for small streams of moonlight shining in through the windows where the curtains didn’t quite cover the glass.

 

Melinda made it to the kitchen and reached up to get a glass from a high shelf, filling it with the cold water running out of the tap. She was half way to the stairs when she turned around again, deciding to also get an apple.

 

The glass was placed far up on the kitchen island as she made her way to the fruit bowl on the counter. Before she could grab a hold of the apple, Melinda was startled by a loud sound behind her.

 

She jumped, and quickly realized that the glass had fallen down onto the floor, spilling out the water.

 

”Melinda? Are you okay?” Jim called from the bedroom upstairs.

 

”I’m fine” She answered. ”Just… go back to sleep” Melinda said through a frown and forgot about the fruit as she padded over to the thankfully not shattered glass and crouched down beside it.

 

She knew where she had placed it, right in the middle of the kitchen island, and she knew that she hadn’t been near it when it had fallen. Melinda sighed and picked the glass up, putting it onto the counter before grabbing the towel hanging outside of the oven and putting it over the puddle, wiping the water up.

 

Once the floor was dry she let her eyes wander around the kitchen, but when she didn’t spot anything weird or out of place, she sighed and stood up. She took the glass and filled it up with more water before making her way out of the kitchen, ready to go to sleep.

 

”Oh!” Melinda said in shock when she saw her. She stood right in front of her in the middle of the living room. Her skin was pale, her hair was black. She looked scared. And even without the black eye and the blood dripping from her head and nose, Melinda would have been able to tell that she hadn’t had a very peaceful death. ”Who are you?” Melinda asked, voice soft.

 

”You have to help me!” The woman said, looking stressed.

 

”Alright, but I - ” She was gone before Melinda could finish her sentence, leaving her with nothing to do but go back to bed with an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

 

 

”You think she was a domestic violence victim?” Jim asked in the morning while he was cooking the pancakes for breakfast.

 

”Yeah, maybe…” Melinda answered, eyes on the computer screen. ”But I mean, that doesn’t really narrow it down” She said, continuing to go through death records, trying to find out who the ghost was.

 

”You think you can get her to tell you anything more?”

 

”Probably eventually, but you know how these things can take time. I don’t even know if she knows she’s dead, she seemed very confused”

 

Jim hummed, flipping the last pancake onto the plate and turning the stove off.

 

”You don’t remember any victims in the past year or so? Woman in her thirties, black hair?” Jim shrugged.

 

”No, sorry, baby. But most people in abusive relationships choose not to call for help, they believe it will just make things worse”

 

Melinda nodded, looking at her husband for a second before going back to the screen.

 

”I wish I could talk to her some more, but I haven’t seen her again. I don’t even know if it is domestic violence, there’s a ton of other different possibilities” Melinda sighed, scrolling through yet another page.

 

These were the times when she hated her gift. The times when she was completely stomped. When the spirits were confused or just uncooperative.

 

Melinda wasn’t naive enough to believe that this ghost would just go away. She had tried that before, and it never worked. They needed help, and this once obviously needed a lot of it. It would just really help if she could find out what exactly had happened to this woman.

 

Or even where she was from originally. And Melinda knew exactly where she needed to go to get some help with that.

 

 

Ian put the glass of orange juice back onto the counter after taking a sip and then walked around the kitchen island, wrapping an arm around his fiance and pressing a kiss to his temple.

 

Mickey grinned, swallowing the gulp of coffee he had in his mouth before turning his head and capturing Ian’s lips between his own in a slow, but searing kiss.

 

Ian deepened it right as Mickey was about to pull away, but Mickey wasn’t complaining in the least. He placed an arm on Ian’s waist, pulling him closer. Ian was about to climb up onto Mickey’s lap when Ian’s glass feel down from the counter, making them jump apart in shock.

 

”What the fuck?” Ian whispered.

 

”Oh, yeah” Mickey mumbled. ”That’s been happening a lot, I think the house might be tilted or something”

 

 

”A domestic violence victim? You want me to spend my time finding a specific person who died by domestic violence? Melinda, do you know how many men abuse their wives? This is gonna take me all day, and that’s if it goes fast. I have work to do” Professor Payne complained, seated in the chair in his office.

 

”I know” Melinda said. ”But I really need help with this”

 

”How do you even know that’s how this ghost died? She was bleeding from the head, right? Black eye? She could have died falling off of a cliff or - or mountain biking”

 

”I know, but I just got a feeling. She was scared. Not like sudden death scared, but…” Melinda trailed off, searching for the right words. ”As if she had been scared for a long time. Of a person close to her” Rick’s eyes softened, and finally he nodded, putting up his hands in defense.

 

”Alright, alright. I’ll check it out, but I’m not making any promises. Woman in her thirties?”

 

”Yes” Melinda nodded. ”Thank you”

 

 

”Hey, Delia” Melinda said right as she entered the antique store. ”I’m sorry I’m late, I had to stop by Professor Payne’s office”

 

”Oh, it’s alright, Mel” Her friend assured her. ”But I have to go pick up Ned, can you handle the rest of the day on your own?”

 

”Yeah, yeah. Go” Melinda smiled, and Delia waved as she exited the store to go pick up her teenage son.

 

When Delia was gone, Melinda turned around to look at the shelves behind the counter. She moved some things around, making equal space in between to make sure it looked nice for anybody who walked in.

 

Then she remembered that she had a box of donated things she needed to unpack in the basement, so the put the bell in the middle of the counter for people to ring, and then she walked down the stairs, flipping the light switch on.

 

Melinda was about halfway through the cardboard box when she heard something fall off the counter in the store.

 

She frowned, and stood up from her chair, walking back to the front of the place.

 

”Hello?” There was no living person there, and she spotted a blue glass vase lying on the floor in pieces. Glass falling. Hm.

 

”I can help you” Melinda stated out loud, still not seeing anybody. ”You just need to tell me who you are”

 

She walked a little bit further, past the counter. Right when she turned around, she was face to face with the woman again. She looked a little bit less scary now. There was less blood on her head, but the signs of abuse were still there along with the pale skin.

 

”Who are you?” Melinda tried again. The woman’s bottom lip started shaking.

 

”I… You have to help me” She said.

 

”I will” Melinda nodded. ”But you need to help me, too. I can’t do anything if you don’t talk to me”

 

The woman didn’t say anything, her frame just stood there, looking very scared.

 

”What happened to you?” Melinda asked. ”Did somebody do that to you?” She looked at the black eye and busted lip.

 

”I… I… You have to talk to them. Talk to them for me. Please”

 

”Who are - ” Before Melinda was finished talking, the woman was gone once again.

 

 

”Baby, what are you thinking about?” Jim asked in a soft voice, turning to his side to face Melinda in the bed.

 

He put a hand on her arm, caressing it slowly as she stayed on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

 

”This ghost, I just… wish I could help her”

 

”Payne didn’t find anything?” Jim asked, and Melinda shook her head before turning it to look at her husband.

 

”No, not yet” She sighed. ”She said I have to talk to them for her”

 

”Who are they?” Jim asked with a frown.

 

”I don’t know. That’s what I was going to ask her before she disappeared on me again” Jim hummed.

 

”Maybe Payne will find something tomorrow”

 

"I hope so"

 

 

It was Melinda’s turn to open up the store the next morning, so she was there early, fully intending to go back down to the basement to finish unpacking the box. Only as soon as she was down the stairs, she saw her again.

 

She looked a lot better this time. She still had pale skin, and the bruise around her eye was still there, but Melinda couldn’t see any blood.

 

When a ghost started looking less and less as they did when they died and more and more how they did when they were alive, it was usually a sign of them starting to sort their mind out. Get less confused.

 

”What’s your name?” Melinda asked softly, hoping that she would be able to get some more out of the ghost this time. The woman looked Melinda in the eye, and slowly opened her mouth.

 

”Charlotte” Melinda nodded.

 

”Do you know what happened to you?” The woman looked confused, and stayed quiet for a beat before answering.

 

”I… I think so. It’s still a little bit hazey” Melinda nodded again.

 

”You were bleeding from your head before. Could it have been an accident? A car crash, maybe? Or did somebody do that to you?”

 

The ghost was quiet for a little bit longer this time.

 

”My… my husband” Melinda bit the inside of her lip, nodding slowly.

 

”Is that why you’re still here? You want revenge?” She guessed, but Charlotte shook her head immediately.

 

”No, no. I don’t want anything from Terry”

 

”Okay…” Melinda said, crossing her arms, wishing this ghost would give her something more. ”What do you want? What can I help you with so that you can get some peace and cross over?”

 

”You have to talk to them. Please talk to them, tell them I’m sorry”

 

”Who are - ” And she was gone. ”Damn it”

 

 

_”I haven’t found anything yet”_ Professor Payne said over the phone.

 

”That’s okay, I know her name now. Charlotte. She was a domestic violence victim, but that’s not why she’s here. She wants me to talk to some people, but she won’t tell me who”

 

_”That’s helpful”_ Rick stated sarcastically.

 

”Oh, will you stop it? I bet she’s still confused. Can you see if you can find any dead Charlotte’s in the past year or two? See if we can find her last name and then maybe we can find out who she wants me to talk to”

 

_”We?”_ Payne asked, and Melinda rolled her eyes.

 

”You? Please?”

 

_”Alright, alright”_ Rick sighed. _”Give me a day or two”_

 

 

”Still nothing?” Jim sighed, massaging Melinda’s shoulders as she sat by the kitchen island, eyes on the laptop screen.

 

”No” She said. ”Rick said her last name might be Milkovich, but there were eight Charlotte’s who died violent deaths in the past year, so nothing is really for sure”

 

Jim sighed and pressed a kiss to her temple before walking over to the fridge to find something to make for dinner.

 

”Oh, wait!” Melinda said loudly, making her husband turn around. ”There’s two people in town with the name Milkovich. Mikhailo and Mandy. That can't be a coincidence, right?”

 

”No. Could be siblings” Jim said. ”Or kids” Melinda nodded.

 

”I have to go see if they ever knew a Charlotte” She said, standing up.

 

”Now?” Jim sighed.

 

”I might be grasping at straws, but at least I'm grasping at something. This will keep me awake at night if I don't do it” Melinda said and walked over to her husband. ”The house is fifteen minutes from here, I’ll be back in time for dinner, I promise”

 

Jim hummed into the kiss she placed to his lips.

 

”Love you” She said on her way out.

 

”Love you too” Jim said after, but she was already out.

 

It wasn’t unusual that she got this excited about a ghost, but it could be annoying once in a while. Despite that, he wouldn’t change it or trade her for anything.

 

 

When Melinda had been driving for about three minutes, Charlotte appeared in the passenger seat, startling her.

 

”Oh!” Melinda said in surprise. 

 

”Are you going to talk to them for me?” Melinda sighed, turning a corner.

 

”Mandy and Mikhailo? Do you know them?” She asked, wanting to know now if she was on the complete wrong path. But when the ghost looked her her, she knew that she wasn’t. ”Are they your siblings?” Charlotte shook her head.

 

”My youngest. You need to tell them how sorry I am”

 

”I will” Melinda promised. Soon, Melinda parked her car and turned to Charlotte. ”That house?” She asked the ghost, nodding to a small, white house.

 

”Yes. That’s where they live now” She confirmed.

 

”What is it you want to tell them?” Melinda asked then.

 

”I’m sorry” She said.

 

That didn’t give Melinda much, but she figured the ghost would tell her later. She got out of the car and walked down the street, Charlotte following.

 

Melinda made it to the small house, and on the steps there was a girl sitting. Probably not much older than twenty.

 

”Are you Mandy?” Melinda asked, and the girl looked up.

 

”Yeah. Who are you?”

 

”My name is Melinda Gordon” Melinda said, taking a few steps closer, over the grass.

 

”Don’t tell her you see me, she’ll never believe you” Charlotte warned, standing beside her daughter.

 

”Okay, what the fuck do you want?” Mandy asked then.

 

”Ask where Mickey is. He might believe you”

 

”I would like to talk to your brother. Mickey, is he around?”

 

”Garage” Mandy said, nodding her head towards it, and Melinda nodded.

 

”Thank you”

 

 

Ian chuckled, wrapping his arms around Mickey’s waist and lifting him up onto the hood of the jeep, covering his lips with his own. Mickey sighed into the kiss, slipping his tongue in between Ian’s, and wrapping an arm around his neck, quickly deepening it.

 

 

Melinda cleared her throat and the guys pulled apart.

 

”I’m so sorry to disturb you” She started, and Mickey jumped down from the hood, crossing his arms.

 

”Can we help you with something?”

 

”I’m Melinda Gordon, I own an antique shop down town”

 

”Oh, yeah” Ian nodded. ” _Same as it never was_ , right?”

 

”That’s right” Melinda smiled politely. ”But that’s not why I’m here. You’re Mickey, right?” She asked, turning to the shorter man, and Mickey nodded.

 

”Yeah”

 

Melinda was quiet for a second, never quite knowing how to break this to people.

 

”I can talk to the dead. I’ve seen your mother”

 

Mickey’s eyebrows flew almost all the way up to his forehead, and his lips parted slightly.

 

”Excuse the fuck outta me?”

 

”I know that it’s a lot, and that a lot of people don’t believe it, but it’s the truth”

 

"Tell him about the juice glass. I made it fall"

 

”The glass of juice falling?” Melinda said. ”That was her. And she’s here with us right now”

 

”Nah, nah. Look, I don’t know what the fuck you’re trying to do, but I don’t believe this shit. Just leave us the fuck alone, alright?”

 

Melinda sighed, very used to this kind of reaction.

 

”If you would just - ”

 

”Maybe you should go” Ian said, wrapping an arm around his fiance’s waist, leaving Melinda with no choice but to go back to her car and drive home.

 

 

That night, Ian crawled into bed and laid down behind Mickey, pulling him to his chest.

 

”Baby, is something wrong?” He asked, breath hot on Mickey's neck. He felt Mickey sigh before he pushed Ian away from him to turn onto his back.

 

”What that woman said, it just… Brings shit up, I guess”

 

”Melinda?” Ian asked, lifting a hand to Mickey’s face, caressing his cheek and temple carefully.

 

”Yeah. You believe in that shit?” Ian shrugged.

 

”I kind of do, yeah” He admitted. ”But you don’t have to”

 

Mickey gnawed on his bottom lip in thought. He had been completely taken off guard by Melinda’s statement, but now… he started thinking. It was very weird how she had known about the glass, and it would kind of make sense in a weird way.

 

The glass falling hadn’t been a one time thing, and Ian had even joked about them having ghosts in the house because it fell no matter how carefully they placed it or how far away they were.

 

”Maybe I do”

 

 

Melinda was agitated the next day. Not because the ghost’s son hadn’t believed her, she had dealt with a lot of reactions like that in the past.

 

No, she was just a little bit on edge because she hated not being able to help somebody who asked for it. Living or dead. She hadn’t seen Charlotte since she had left the house, but she had a feeling she would at some point.

 

Ghosts never just disappeared, they _needed_ help. Melinda was down in the basement later that night, finishing unpacking another couple of boxes of antiques. She heard the door open and close in the front of the store.

 

She was about to yell that she would be right there before she heard the voices.

 

”Why the fuck are we even here? You both know I don’t believe in this shit”

 

”Neither do I, Mands. Wouldn’t do any harm, though”

 

_Mands._

 

Mandy. It was the Milkovich’s.

 

Melinda frowned and walked up the stairs.

 

”Hi” She said with a smile.

 

All three of them were standing there, in the middle of the store.

 

”I kind of dragged them here” The redhead admitted with a smile. ”I’m Ian” Melinda nodded.

 

”I understand that these things can be confusing and not easy to believe in, but I ask that you do. Your mother wants to apologize” Mandy rolled her eyes.

 

”Tell her about the locket” Charlotte suddenly appeared beside Melinda.

 

”The locket?” She repeated in a questioning tone, and Mandy snapped her head up.

 

”How the fuck do you know about that?” Melinda pulled her shoulders up, crossing her arms, almost as if she was waiting for Mandy to figure things out on her own, and she did.

 

”Holy fuck, it’s actually real, isn’t it?” Melinda nodded.

 

”I’m telling you the truth”

 

”What does she want?” Mickey asked then.

 

”Tell them how sorry I am. For how I left them when I died. With their father”

 

”She’s sorry” Melinda said. ”She feels really bad for how she left you when she died. With your dad”

 

”It wasn’t right, they shouldn’t have had to grow up in that house with the guns and the alcohol. The abuse. I would have done anything to stop it if I could”

 

Melinda’s eyes teared up at Charlotte’s words.

 

”It wasn’t right. She wishes that she could have stopped the abuse”

 

Ian wrapped an arm around Mickey’s waist, pulling him to his side as any doubt they had left was sucked out of all three of them. A tear ran down Mandy’s cheek, and Mickey put a hand on her arm.

 

”He got really mad, and he killed me. That wasn’t my fault, but I should have stopped everything way before then”

 

”She feels like she should have stopped it before it went too far. But then he killed her and it was too late”

 

”It’s okay. We’re fine. We're not mad” Mandy said, and Melinda smiled as she saw Charlotte by her side, wiping a tear away.

 

Mandy’s breath hitched as the cold hit her skin.

 

”What the fuck?” Melinda just smiled at her.

 

”I wish I could be at the wedding. It’s gonna be so beautiful” Charlotte said then, going over to stand by Mickey. ”I am so happy you have found somebody as wonderful as Ian” Melinda teared up even more at that.

 

”She’s happy you found each other. She wishes she could see the wedding”

 

”I wish she could too” Ian said.

 

Charlotte turned, and smiled.

 

”I see it now. It’s so beautiful” Melinda smiled at her.

 

”That’s for you. It’s peace”

 

”Thank you” Charlotte nodded to her, her skin regaining some color again.

 

The black eye and blood nowhere to be seen.

 

”You’re welcome” Melinda said, wiping a tear away from her own face.

 

Within seconds, Melinda had crossed another ghost over, and the room felt a little bit lighter.

 

”She’s gone”


End file.
